Valve for counter pressure filling apparatus



y 1956 J. T. KLINE 2,756,917

VALVE FOR COUNTER PRESSURE: FILLING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 27, 1953 2Sheets-Sheet 1 John T Kline Mm H-Hgr y 1, 1956 J. T. KLINE 2,756,917

VALVE FOR COUNTER PRESSURE FILLING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 27. 1953 I 2Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent Ofiice 2,756,917 Patented July 31,1956 VALVE FOR COUNTER PRESSURE FILLING APPARATUS John T. Kline,Huntington Park, Los Angeles, Calif., as-

signor to R. K. Manufacturing Co. Inc., Portland, reg., a corporation ofOregon Application November 27, 1953, Serial No. 394,802

4 Claims. (Cl. 226115) The art of filling containers with chargedbeverages by the so-called counterpressure principle is well known, asindicated by U. S. Patents 2,097,107, 2,145,765 and 2,202,033. These andother prior art patents pertaining to apparatus designed for fillingcontainers with beer, carbonated beverages, or other liquids having atendency to foam or eifervesce when agitated, employ substantially thesame methods and principles.

Briefly outlined they are as follows: The charged liquid is supplied toa reservoir by piping connected to a continuous source of supply forminga closed circuit; air or gas under pressure, such as carbon dioxide, isalso supplied to the reservoir by suitable piping leading from acontinuous source forming a closed circuit, thereby providing a headabove the liquid in the reservoir; and a plurality of filling heads,each one of which contains a rotary fiat valve and means to temporarilyseal the containers, is joined to the bottom of the reservoir andconnected with the interior thereof by suitable piping to permit removalof the liquid and/ or the air or gas confined therein. By positioningthe valve in each filling head in a predetermined pattern, a fillingsequence is accomplished which permits the filling of the containerswithout excessively foaming or effervescing the liquid. This sequenceconsists of temporarily sealing the container to the filling head; thenpositioning the valve to permit the air or gas under pressure in thereservoir, commonly called counterpressure, to enter into the containerto equalize the pressure between them; then positioning the valve topermit the liquid in the reservoir to enter into the container under itsnormal hydrostatic pressure and to return the air or gas(counterpressure) in the container back to the reservoir as it is beingdisplaced by the liquid; then positioning the valve to out off the flowof the liquid and the air or gas (counterpressure) to and from thecontainer; then exhausting any air or gas remaining in the container andfinally permanently sealing the container.

My invention, while relating generally to apparatus for transferringgaseous liquids from a sourceof supply to containers, specificallyrelates to the rotary fiat valve employed by such apparatus and isspecifically directed to the method employed in conveying the liquid andair or gas from the reservoir to the container.

The rotary fiat valves presently employed in the industry as disclosedby Patents 2,097,107, 2,145,765 and 2,202,033, do not fully eliminatethe foam or excessive etfervescence of the liquid as it travels from thereservoir to the container to be filled, because the port leading fromthe reservoir is opened before the ports for venting the compressed airor gas from the container are' opened. This causes the liquid, as itattempts to enter into the container, to be excessively cushioned andagitated. Excessive agitation is also caused by the inherent structuralcharacteristics of the present valves, since the liquid, as it passesthrough the valves, must pass over sharp corners and useless recesses asit travels, from one port to another onits way to the container to befilled. The present type valve construction makes it practicallyimpossible to clean the orifices and ports in the valve and results inunsatisfactory sanitary conditions.

It is within the contemplation of my invention to provide a rotary flatvalve which permits the ports for venting the pressure from thecontainer back to the reservoir to be retained in opened positionsimultaneously with the opening of the port for the liquid to flow fromthe reservoir towards the container and to remain in opened positionduring the flow of liquid and thereby prevent turbulence, and to furtherprevent turbulence by eliminating all obstructions to the flow of theliquid.

The quintessence of my invention resides in the provision of certainstructural features in a rotary flat valve used in apparatus employingthe counterpressure principle, which entirely eliminates the possibilityof any turbulence during the transferring of liquid having inherentfoaming or elfervescing characteristics from a reservoir to a container.

An important object of the invention is to permit the venting of thedisplaced air or gas emanating from the container as it is being filledwith liquid throughout the entire filling operation and to eliminate theslightest turbulence of the liquid during its transfer from thereservoir to the container.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a rotary fiat valve,the structural characteristics of which allow it to be easily cleanedand worn out parts easily replaced.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a rotary fiat valvewhich is less costly to manufacture than the rotary type valve presentlyemployed.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a rotary flat valvedesigned to accurately perform each step prior to, during, andsubsequent to the filling operation with a minimum of effort and wasteand an optimum of accuracy.

Other advantages and novel characteristics of my invention will becomeapparent and more readily understood from the detailed description whichfollows and from the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, inwhich:

Fig. l is an elevational viewpartly in cross-section, of arepresentative type of counterpressure filling apparatus, illustratingthe relationship of the filling heads containing the valves embodying myinvention to the reservoir containing the product to be packaged and airor gas under pressure;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of a rotary fiat valve embodying theprinciples of my invention showing in dotted lines the relationship ofthe ports and recesses at the time the valve is in position for fillingthe container with liquid and simultaneously venting the air or gas fromthe container;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the rotary flat valve embodying theprinciples of my invention, also showing in dotted lines therelationship between the ports and recesses during the filling andventing operations;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation, partly in cross-section, of the rotaryfiat valve embodying the principles of my invention, showing therelationship of the various ports and recesses at the time the valve isin closed position;

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation, partly in cross-section, of a rotaryflat valve embodying my invention, showing the relationship of the portsand recesses when the valve is positioned for counterpressuring thecontainer;

' position of the various ports and recesses when the valve embodying myinvention is closed to prevent the flow of liquid and air or gastherethrough;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary section of the valve embodying theprinciples of my invention, showing the relationship of the ports andrecesses when the valve is in position for the air or gas(counterpressure) to flow into the container; and

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 2,showing the relationship of the various ports and recesses during thefilling and venting operation.

Referring to Fig. 1, which discloses a representative counterpressurefilling apparatus, there is shown a reservoir 1 into which beer isdelivered from a source of supply, not shown, by means of pipe 2, whichis joined to the bottom thereon and which passes through stationarysupport 3. Air or gas, such as carbon dioxide, is fed into the reservoir1 from a source of supply, not shown, by means of a pipe 4, and in orderto control the inflow and exhaust of the air or gas in the reservoir andmaintain pressure above the liquid in said reservoir at a desiredpressure, a valve and float assembly 5 of well known construction ispositioned in and above the reservoir. A plurality of container supportsof well known construction, and herein designated generally by referencecharacter A, are rotated around the stationary support 3 in a well knownmanner and the containers positioned thereon are brought into alignmentwith the filling heads next to be described. A plurality of fillingheads, generally designated by reference character B, are removablysecured to support 3 in any well known manner and so positioned inrespect to the container supports A as to permit the containers to comeinto alignment with a head as the container support moves.

Broadly considered, only the rotary flat valves of the filling head Bhave been modified. However, in order to effectively and clearly rendera detailed description of my invention and point out its advantages, allstructural characteristics of the filling heads, whether new or old,will be described. Since all filling heads have the same structuralcharacteristics, the description of one should suffice for all.

Each filling head B, beneath which all steps in the filling operationare carried on, consists of a stationary body portion 6, cylindrical ingeneral contour, and has an externally threaded member 7 to which afilling nozzle 8 is attached. Since the structural features of thenozzle are well known, there is no need to fully descibe them. Bodyportion 6 of each filling head B is tightly secured to the stationarysupport 3 by any well known means, as by nuts and bolts 9. A circulardepression is providedin body portion 6, as shown at 10, and a stud 11extends centrally from the depression 10. Body portion 6 has acylindrical bore 12 passing through its body, one end of which joins andcoincides with pipe 13 and the other end of which emanates throughdepression 1 1. Another cylindrical bore 14, having a diameter equal tothat of bore 12, 'but'which, however, is L-shaped, is also formed inbody portion 6. This bore also emanates from depression 10, but itsother end passes through member 7. Still another cylindrical bore 15,the diameter of which is substantially less than the diameter of bores12 and 14, extends through body portion 6 in spaced parallelrelationship to these bores, one end of which joins and coincides withpipe 16 and the other end of which also emanates from depression 119.Finally, another cylindrical-bore 17, equalin diameter to the diameterof bore 15, but L-shaped in contour, extends through depression 10 andthreaded member 7.

Pipe 13 joins the reservoir 1 at its bottom, and pipe 16 entersthereservoir near the top and extends above the liquid normallycontained in the reservoir.

A rotary flat valve 18 is provided with arms 19 and 20 extending 'inangular relation to each other, and arm 20 has an offset 21 extendingtherefrom. These arms and the offset are employed to move valve .18intothe predetermined positions for controlling the flow of liquid andair or gas (for counterpressuring) through the various bores in bodyposition 6 in the manner hereinafter to be described.

Valve body 18 is cylindrical in contour and has a bore 22 disposedcentrally thereof which fits over stud 11 and is adapted to fit snuglyinto depression 10. A circular depression is also provided in valve body18, and a disc 23, the thickness of which is equal to the depth of thedepression and which is made of any hard material impervious to fluidsand extreme temperature changes, such as a plastic of thepolytetrafluoroethylene type, known in the trade by the trademarksTeflon and KelenT, is tightly fitted into this depression. Disc 23 hasan arcuate groove 24, crescent-shaped in cross-section, the transversediameter of which is equal to the diameter of bores 12 or 14, formed inthe exposed face of the disc 23 and is so positioned therein as tocoincide with the bores 12 and 14 upon the movement of the valve body 18in relation to body portion 6. Another arcuate groove 25, crescentshaped.in cross-section, the transverse diameter of which is equal to thediameter of bores 15 or 17, is also formed in the exposed face of disc23 and is positioned therein so as to coincide with bores 15 and 17 uponthe movement of the valve body 18 in relation to body portion 6. Thesearcuate grooves present smooth surfaces to the flow of the liquid andair or gas through the bores and into the container and are adapted foreasy cleaning. To prevent leakage of either the liquid or the air or gaspassing through the valve body 18 and body portion 6, the disc in thevalve body is held in close fitting contact with the face of thedepression 10 by means of an adjustable anti-friction device 26, of wellknown construction, which also :fits over the stud 11 immediately inback of valve body 18, and a nut 27, threadably engageable to the stud11, retains the valve body and anti-friction device adjusted to insure atight fitting relationship between the valve bodyand body portion andyet permits the valve to turn freely about the stud 11 without exertingany appreciable retarding effects upon the rotation of the valve.

The arrangement of the bores in the body portion 6 and the grooves invalve body 18 will be more clearly understood from a description of thedifferent positions taken by the valve body in relation to the bodyportion 6 in carrying out the various steps in the filling cycle. Thesepositions are clearly shown in Figures 4 to 9 inelusive.

When the valve body 18 is rotated into the predetermined position shownin Figs. 4 and 7, the disc 23 completely shuts off bores 14 and 15, and,although bores 12and :17 coincide with grooves 24 and 25 respectively,they too are rendered inoperative. When the arm of valve body 18contacts the counterpressure trip of the filling-apparatus, valve 18will be turned, in a counterclockwise direction, to the position shownin Figs. 5 and 8. Groove .25 will then be in communication with bothbores 15 .and 17, and air or gas under pressure will pass from reservoir1 through bore 15 and into bore 17 and finally into the container beingcounterpressured, as diagrammatically shown in Fig. 8 by the arrows.

When the valve body is again moved in a counterclockwise direction intothe position illustrated in Figs. 6 and 9, grooves 24 and 25 will thenbe in alignment with bores 12 and Hand 15 and 17 respectively, and theliquid from reservoir 1 will flow under its own hydrostatic pressureinto the containers as the air or gas in the-container is vented intothe reservoir, as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 9.

From the foregoing it is evident that the present type disc valves use,as a means of transferring liquids and air or gas, openings eitherthrough the movable member or openings which enter at one point on thesurface of the movable member and are tunnelled'underneath the surfaceand then emerge through the surface at another point, leaving aspacebetween the two .points of opening. By

this construction a point between the counterpressuring position of themovable member and the filling position of the movable member exists atwhich the counterpressure line to the container is momentarily closed.Since the liquid openings are larger than the counterpressure openings,there is an instant in the motion of the movable member when the liquidline to the container is partially open while the counterpressure lineremains closed, causing thereby a slight agitation of the liquid andproducing a foaming or bubbling as the liquid first enters thecontainer. The arcuate groove 25 provided in my invention is so placedon the surface of the valve body as to efiect a continuous openingbetween the bore and the bore 17 during the movement of the valve fromthe counterpressure position to the filling position, resulting in apractically complete elimination of the foaming or bubbling of theliquid as it enters the container.

Although I have found from actual practice that the valve as shown anddescribed is extremely efiicient in operation, it is quite possible thatchanges may be made in the details of construction and arrangement ofparts but which will nevertheless come within the scope of thisinvention, and therefore I do not wish to limit myself to the disclosureshown and described herein except as specified in the following claims,in which I claim:

1. In a valve to be used in combination with counterpressure fillingapparatus comprising, a body portion having a pair of bores therein oneof which is L-shaped and both of which pass through said body member, apair of smaller bores disposed in said body member in spacedrelationship to the aforementioned bores one of said smaller bores beingalso L-shaped, and a valve body movably positioned in tight workingrelationship to the body portion, said valve body having a pair ofarcuate grooves formed therein the transverse diameter of each beingdetermined by the diameter of the respective pairs of bores in the bodyportion, one of said grooves being for fluid and the other for gas, saidgrooves being positioned to coincide with their respective bores uponthe movement of the valve body in a predetermined arrangement.

2. A filling head for filling bottles or the like with liquid containinga gas under pressure from a closed reservoir comprising, a body portionhaving pressure bores to connect the bottle to be filled with the upperpart of said reservoir before and during the filling operation proper,and liquid carrying bores to permit liquid from said reservoir to flowinto said bottle by gravity, and valve means cooperatively associatedwith said body portion to control the opening and closing of said bores,said valve means having an arcuate groove and adapted to be actuated soas to permit gas to enter the bottle first then to permit liquid toenter the bottle simultaneously as said gas is returned to thereservoir.

3. A filling head for filling containers with liquid containing gasunder pressure from a closed reservoir, comprising a body portionadapted to be tightly jointed against the upper edge of the neck of thecontainer to be filled, a pair of bores disposed through said baseadapted to deliver gas from the upper part of said reservoir to saidcontainer and subsequently return said gas to the reservoir, 21 pair ofliquid carrying bores adapted to permit liquid from said reservoir toflow into said bottle by gravity only, and a valve cooperativelyassociated with said body portion for intermittently permitting theconfluence or nonconfluence of said respective pairs of bores with eachother.

4. A filling head for filling containers with liquid containing gasunder pressure from a closed reservoir, comprising a body portionadapted to be tightly jointed against the upper edge of the neck of thecontainer to be filled, a pair of bores disposed through said baseadapted to deliver gas from the upper part of said reservoir to saidcontainer and subsequently return said gas to the reservoir, a pair ofliquid carrying bores adapted to permit liquid from said reservoir toflow into said bottle by gravity only, and a valve cooperativelyassociated with said body portion, said valve being provided with anarmate groove for fluid passage, and an arcuate groove for gas passage.

References, Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,985,355 Stern Dec. 25, 1934 2,109,489 Le Frank Mar. 1, 1938 2,367,899Stewart Jan. 23, 1945 2,679,346 Breeback May 25, 1954 2,691,477Sabalauskas Oct. 12, 1954

